Zillow Talk

How do you spot an area poised for gentrification? Is spring or winter the best time to put your house on the market? Will a house on Swamp Road sell for less than one on Gingerbread Lane? The fact is that the rules of real estate have changed drastically over the past five years. To understand real estate in our fast-paced, technology-driven world, we need to toss out all of the outdated truisms and embrace today's brand new information. But how? Enter Zillow, the nation's #1 real estate website and mobile app. Thanks to its treasure trove of proprietary data and army of statisticians and data scientists, led by chief economist Stan Humphries, Zillow has been able to spot the trends and truths of today's housing market while acknowledging that a home is more than an economic asset. In Zillow Talk, Humphries and CEO Spencer Rascoff explain the science behind where and how we live now and reveal practical, data-driven insights about buying, selling, renting and financing real estate. Read this book to find out why: It's better to remodel your bathroom than your kitchen Putting the word "cute" in your listing could cost you thousands of dollars You shouldn't buy the worst house in the best neighborhood You should never list your house for $444,000 You shouldn't list your house for sale before March Madness or after the Masters Densely packed with entertaining anecdotes and invaluable how-to advice, Zillow Talk is poised to be the real estate almanac for the next generation.

How do you spot an area poised for gentrification? Is spring or winter the best time to put your house on the market? Will a house on Swamp Road sell for less than one on Gingerbread Lane? The fact is that the rules of real estate have changed drastically over the past five years. To understand real estate in our fast-paced, technology-driven world, we need to toss out all of the outdated truisms and embrace today's brand new information. But how? Enter Zillow, the nation's #1 real estate website and mobile app. Thanks to its treasure trove of proprietary data and army of statisticians and data scientists, led by chief economist Stan Humphries, Zillow has been able to spot the trends and truths of today's housing market while acknowledging that a home is more than an economic asset. In Zillow Talk, Humphries and CEO Spencer Rascoff explain the science behind where and how we live now and reveal practical, data-driven insights about buying, selling, renting and financing real estate. Read this book to find out why: It's better to remodel your bathroom than your kitchen Putting the word "cute" in your listing could cost you thousands of dollars You shouldn't buy the worst house in the best neighborhood You should never list your house for $444,000 You shouldn't list your house for sale before March Madness or after the Masters Densely packed with entertaining anecdotes and invaluable how-to advice, Zillow Talk is poised to be the real estate almanac for the next generation.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 People still believe that buying a house is the best way to grow your money, even though the housing market has bottomed out and foreclosures are still on the rise. #2 According to data compiled by the World Bank, the US stock market is worth more than $18. 7 trillion. The housing market is even bigger, with estimates suggesting that the value of America’s housing stock is more than $25. #3 The returns on real estate are better than stocks. The risks are lower, and the benefits are more significant. #4 The idea that young professionals should rent while happy families in the ’burbs should own is rooted in popular culture and the expectations of our family and friends. But our thinking about homeownership is mostly based on sentiment.

How to analyze data settings rather than data sets, acknowledging the meaning-making power of the local. In our data-driven society, it is too easy to assume the transparency of data. Instead, Yanni Loukissas argues in All Data Are Local, we should approach data sets with an awareness that data are created by humans and their dutiful machines, at a time, in a place, with the instruments at hand, for audiences that are conditioned to receive them. The term data set implies something discrete, complete, and portable, but it is none of those things. Examining a series of data sources important for understanding the state of public life in the United States—Harvard's Arnold Arboretum, the Digital Public Library of America, UCLA's Television News Archive, and the real estate marketplace Zillow—Loukissas shows us how to analyze data settings rather than data sets. Loukissas sets out six principles: all data are local; data have complex attachments to place; data are collected from heterogeneous sources; data and algorithms are inextricably entangled; interfaces recontextualize data; and data are indexes to local knowledge. He then provides a set of practical guidelines to follow. To make his argument, Loukissas employs a combination of qualitative research on data cultures and exploratory data visualizations. Rebutting the “myth of digital universalism,” Loukissas reminds us of the meaning-making power of the local.

Deciding Where to Live: Information Studies on Where to Live in America explores major themes related to where to live in America, not only about the acquisition of a home but also the ways in which where one lives relates to one’s cultural identity. It shows how changes in media and information technology are shaping both our housing choices and our understanding of the meaning of personal place. The work is written using widely accessible language but supported by a strong academic foundation from information studies and other humanities and social science disciplines. Chapters analyze everyday information behavior related to questions about where to live. The eleven major chapters are: Chapter 1: Where to live as an information problem: three contemporary examples Chapter 2: Turning in place: Real estate agents and the move from information custodians to information brokers Chapter 3: The Evolving Residential Real Estate Information Ecosystem: The Rise of Zillow Chapter 4: Privacy, Surveillance, and the “Smart Home” Chapter 5: This Old House, Fixer Upper, and Better Homes & Gardens: The Housing Crisis and Media Sources Chapter 6: A Community Responds to Growth: An Information Story About What Makes for a Good Place to Live." Chapter 7: The Valley Between Us: The meta-hodology of racial segregation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Chapter 8: Modeling Hope: Boundary Objects and Design Patterns in a Heartland Heterotopia Chapter 9: Home buying in Everyday Life: How Emotion and Time Pressure Shape High Stakes Deciders’ Information Behavior Chapter 10: In Search of Home: Examining Information Seeking and Sources That Help African Americans Determine Where to Live Chapter 11: Where to Live in Retirement: A Complex Information Problem While the book is partly about the goal-directed activity of individuals who want to buy a house, and the infrastructure that supports that activity, it is also about personal activities that are either not goal directed or are directed at other goals such as deciding in which geographic location to live, personal entertainment, cultural understanding, or identity formation.

The Skinny on the Housing Crisis is an in-depth look into how America dragged itself into the worst housing and credit crisis since The Great Depression. The story is told through the experience of a young couple, Billy and Beth, who in 2006 buy their first house. Two years later, they lose their house to foreclosure.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Transforming Digital Worlds, iConference 2018, held in Sheffield, UK, in March 2018. The 42 full papers and 40 short papers presented together with the abstracts of 3 invited talks in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 219 submissions. The papers address topics such as social media; communication studies and online communities; mobile information and cloud computing; data mining and data analytics; information retrieval; information behaviour and digital literacy; digital curation; and information education and libraries.

NEW 2ND EDITION UPDATE FOR 2023! A hilarious guide to saving thousands of dollars marketing and selling your home with standard 'For Sale by Owner' (FSBO) or flat-fee MLS. Great for home flippers, sellers, OR buyers (now includes a full chapter on buying homes, as well as tips throughout for buyers). Two real-life case studies are presented in detail, with lessons learned, tips, and hacks. One case study in a buyer's market, and one in a seller's market. The traditional way of selling real estate has been disrupted. FSBO has changed from the days when you put the ugly red and white sign out front. There are new approaches that benefit sellers and buyers. The choice between FSBO and using listing/selling agents the old-school way is no longer binary. New options make it easier for homeowners to find the right process for themselves. Visionary realty companies now offer flat-fee MLS, which eliminates expensive commissions and helps to expedite the process, put the power back in the hands of buyers and sellers, and save both parties money. This book examines those choices, and walks you through the selling process from start to finish using real-life experiences, from historic decisions to closing. It is indeed a 'Cautionary Tale' due to the many pitfalls and bizarre events that occurred along the way. In conclusion, the author poses the question—is it wise to buy a home at all anymore? Should we just rent? ***** Five Stars The great thing about this book is it puts all the info right in one place for a very reasonable price, giving you an up-to-date summary of how to do FSBO in the modern marketplace. I highly recommend it! W Chef (1st Edition Review) ***** Five Stars This is a great read. Having just gone through selling our house and buying a new one I can relate at many levels. And the author uses an engaging writing style. Alex P, Vine Voice (1st Edition Review)